New factual drama Prisoner 951 has premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this week (23rd November 2025) after filming last year on location in Bristol with support from our Film Office team, and the wider South West region. UK production was based at The Bottle Yard Studios.
The four part drama is based on the extraordinary true story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen who was imprisoned and held hostage by the Iranian state for six years, and her husband Richard Ratcliffe who campaigned for justice and her return.
Starring in the lead roles are Narges Rashidi (Gangs of London, Under The Shadow, The Allegation) and Joseph Fiennes (Dear England, The Handmaid’s Tale, Shakespeare in Love). The four-part series is written by Stephen Butchard (This City Is Ours, Five Daughters) and directed by three-time BAFTA award-winner Philippa Lowthorpe (Three Girls, The Crown).
Prisoner 951 is based on the forthcoming book, A Yard of Sky, written by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe. It is produced by Fremantle’s Dancing Ledge Productions (The Salisbury Poisonings) for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. It covers Nazanin and Richard’s ordeal which captured the world’s attention, from Nazanin’s arrest at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, to her release and return to the UK six years later. It tells both the heart-stopping public story which was played out in the media and events behind closed doors.
A Dancing Ledge Productions spokesperson says: “The support and expertise of The Bottle Yard Studios and Bristol Film Office during our shoot in Bristol and the South West was invaluable and much appreciated.”
Prisoner 951 is available in full on BBC iPlayer now.
(All images courtesy BBC/Dancing Ledge Productions)